Osa and Martin Johnson

In the 1930s, Kansas husband-and-wife team Osa and Martin Johnson — flying two Sikorsky amphibian aircraft painted in animal motifs — covered 60,000 miles and photographed the land and peoples of Africa. The Johnsons introduced Depression-era audiences to the beauty of East Africa with their popular travel books and safari documentary films like Baboona.

Painting: Andrew Whyte, Norwalk, Connecticut

Read more fascinating stories about early flying adventures in Aviation History.